UN: Anti-Muslim Violence Displaces Thousands in Western Myanmar

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday that some over 140,000 people remain in camps with little hope of returning home. The UN sources noted that the violence has claimed up to 167 lives and destroyed 10,000 buildings in the troubled region. Myanmar Army forces allegedly provided the fanatics with containers of petrol for torching the houses of Muslim villagers, who were then forced to flee. Myanmar’s government has been repeatedly criticized for failing to protect the Muslim minority. International and rights groups accuse Myanmar’s Buddhists of systematic attacks on Muslims, particularly the Rohingyas. The international organizations also accuse the government of failing to protect the Muslim minority. Large numbers of Muslims have been killed, and tens of thousands displaced as a result of violence in recent years. "The consequences of statelessness for Muslims in the Rakhine State continue to have a direct effect on the fundamental human rights, and social and economic development of Myanmar," said Ashok Nigam, UN humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar on Tuesday. The extremists frequently attack Rohingyas and have set fire to their homes in several villages in western state of Rakhine. Rohingya Muslims have faced torture, neglect, and repression in Myanmar for many years. Thousands of Rohingyas in Rakhine are deprived of citizenship rights, becoming vulnerable to acts of violence, expulsion, and displacement.End item/ 149